


Roses

by iamtheoneinthehole



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Mad King!Ryan, Minecraft!AU, king!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-06
Updated: 2014-03-06
Packaged: 2018-01-14 17:33:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1275049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamtheoneinthehole/pseuds/iamtheoneinthehole
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray had always liked roses. There was something so intricate about the flowers, so ornate, yet with their beauty came a harshness, a perfect balance between radiance and ruin, between what was beautiful and what was deadly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Roses

**Author's Note:**

> This was one of those ideas that quickly spiraled out of control while I wrote it, though it was definitely a lot of fun to explore where this work took me (I'm not entirely sure what that says about me as a person). Enjoy!

Ray had always liked roses. There was something so intricate about the flowers, so ornate, yet with their beauty came a harshness, a perfect balance between radiance and ruin, between what was beautiful and what was deadly. Some might roll their eyes at such a description, calling it melodramatic, exaggerated, but Ray knew the seemingly delicate flower like no other. He knew that their thorns were sharp and their appearance alluring to the extent that many forgot that fact… and sometimes, if you angered a sorcerer, or just happened to fall victim to a trap intended for one who had, thorns were poison. But those deaths were rare, the enchantments required for such brutality outlawed throughout the kingdom of Achievement City, and so most people simply overlooked the dangerous qualities of a rose, choosing to fixate only on its beauty. Ray had never really understood why that was. To him, half of the beauty of the plant was its thorns.

As a young boy he’d found and tended to his small patch of overgrown roses, the stems warped and tangled with one another due to neglect and the damage done by travelers passing through who’d chosen to take a more scenic route. Ray found these imperfections only added to the flower’s beauty, the unnatural angles the plants had been twisted into at only serving to draw a greater attention to the sharp points of their natural armor, an armor far greater in Ray’s mind than any of the knights that would sometimes parade around the lower cities… So as other kids had played with toy pickaxes and swords and talked about future careers as diamond miners or knights of Prince Geoff’s future court, he had instead tended to his roses with a diligence that’d begun to concern his parents and those around them. But when confronted about it Ray had always assured them that he was content. And he was, he simply preferred the company of roses that of the people around him.

It had been fire that had torn his roses from him, a raging fiery blaze that’d swallowed his whole town in a fog of thick cloying smoke. His parents had perished within the blaze along with countless others but it was the loss of his roses that he’d felt most keenly… He suspected perhaps that there was something wrong with him because of this, knowing he should feel suffer their losses, feel remorse even for what’d taken place, and yet he found he felt nothing but contempt when he thought of the children who’d been caught up in the blaze. All that talk of being heroes, gods even, as they’d ran around the village with those toy swords, all that taunting Ray for being weaker because he liked to tend to his roses instead of fighting like them, yet they’d burned just like any other man or woman. Weak, ignorant and too full of their own importance to see beyond the beauty of the world around them, to the thorns always waiting to strike.

He didn’t mourn them. Being one of very few survivors he didn’t need to, no one was there to call him out on his dry eyes or the way he’d rushed to the charred remains of the flowers beds instead of his family’s eternal ones. Amidst the ashes, he’d managed to salvage three seeds, just the three, but it had been enough. A start.

He’d traveled to the neighboring town after that, with just those seeds, a little food and just enough money to buy himself a small patch of land. Within two years he’d managed to establish himself as a somewhat known flower seller within his little community, within three word of his roses had spread to neighboring villages. As time passed and he grew older, more skilled, Ray’s roses began to develop somewhat of a reputation within Achievement City, the word quickly spreading about the quality and the beauty of the flowers. He begun to get requests from villages in the south of the kingdom, travelers coming from miles away in order to purchase a bloom that might just impress their lady love.

He’d even been visited by the newly appointed head of the King’s guard, a curly haired redhead with a quick temper whose demeanor towards Ray had seemed to alter entirely when he realized the circumstances of his living conditions (even with his reputation ever-growing as it was, the prices he charged people barely allowed him the money to meet his payments on the small mud hut he’d managed to acquire for himself just to the edge of his rose patch). He’d seen empathy and perhaps even pity in the man’s eyes after that and had, ultimately, ended up leaving Ray with twice the amount of money he’d charged him for his roses (and that was only after Ray had talked the man down from offering him considerably more handsome sum), leaving a somewhat bemused Ray to go and tend to his garden.

Less than a week later, he found himself face to face in the throne room with the King of Achievement City himself, the man making a somewhat unusual request for a crown of roses for the lady he was courting. He’d quickly agreed, admittedly humbled that the man had asked and he’d worked diligently until the crown was complete to a standard he felt was worthy of what would likely be his future Queen. He never would’ve expected however, even with the amount of effort he placed into crafting it and the apparent joy it’d brought the receiver, that King Geoff would then ask him to stay as a member of his court.

——

The first time he’d entered the courtroom, it became immediately clear that Ray hadn’t been the only one surprised by the King’s offer. The disapproval from the moment he’d entered the court was almost tangible to the extent that Ray had been ready to turn on his heels and flee back to the flowers that made far more sense to him than these people ever would… but then he’d caught the eye of the man who sat to Geoff’s right, a young lord with messy untamed hair and a wide grin who was introduced to Ray moments later as Gavin Free, the hand of the king.

He’d beckoned Ray over to the seat beside his, something about the man’s evident enthusiasm helping him to ignore the glares that others shot him as he crossed the room to take the seat the man was gesturing to. At Geoff’s other side sat the redhead who’d overpaid him before for the roses; Michael (or Mogar as he was widely known in the legends told throughout Achievement City), head of the King’s Guard and the most brutal warrior within any of the known kingdoms (perhaps with the exception of the shadow lands). At his side, and opposite Ray, was Lindsay of the House of Tuggey who, according to the stories, was the only person who’d ever sparred with the legendary ‘Mogar’ and won. She was now his second in Geoff’s guard and apparently the receiver of the roses Michael had purchased if the one slotted behind her ear so that it nestled against her fiery hair was anything to go by.

There were numerous other councilors mentioned, all whose names Ray quickly forgot with the exception of a man named Jack who’d stood out in Ray’s mind simply because he’d been the only other man at the table from the lower lands. The man had a kind, personable way of discussing things, his voice rarely contributing but all of his words ringing with a wisdom that was only really matched by the King’s hand (who, despite appearances, seemed to be a far wiser man than Ray had initially given him credit for) and the King himself. The man, it seemed, was in charge of any building or renovations within the palace as well as being responsible for approving requests when King Geoff’s subjects desired to expand or alter their settlements. Ray also got the sense that Geoff relied on the man as a comforting older presence given his otherwise surprisingly young, though undeniably competent, group of councilors. 

 

With Gavin’s guidance and a considerable amount of patience shown on Geoff’s part, he’d somehow managed to stumble his way through that first council, surprised to see the looks of approval on Gavin and Lindsay’s faces and the pleased grin stretching its way across the King’s. He’d found out later that throwing him immediately into that council meeting had been a test of sorts, to allow the others a chance to assess his character as well as allowing them to see whether or not Ray would crack under pressure… apparently he’d done something right because before the month was out Ray’s seat at Geoff’s council had been declared a permanent one. The disapproving murmurs about him had faded from Geoff’s court pretty soon after that.

 

And, after a few more months at court, Ray had started to feel like he’d finally found his place in the world. He’d connected with Geoff (since he insisted that Ray drop the titles when they weren’t in public, claiming it all felt too damn stuffy and official for a man who mostly just sat on his arse and listened to people complain about things) and his council better than he ever had with anyone in either of the towns he’d lived in before he’d come to court and as Gavin begun to turn to him for second opinions on matters of the crown, Ray found himself spending less and less time in the rose gardens that now surrounded the palace, his place in the courtroom becoming increasingly valid as Michael also began to train him in weaponry. So far, Ray found himself favoring the bow he’d been given, the precise element to the weapon combined with the beauty of the motion of the arrow as it cut through the air almost reminiscent of the beauty-danger element that’d attracted him to roses in the first place.

Despite his growing competency though, he’d still never quite shaken his curiosity as to exactly why Geoff had summoned him to court in the first place and had, ultimately, ended up confronting the King about it one night after a long council regarding their renewed alliance with the Roosterteeth kingdom. As it turned out, Geoff had simply looked at him and had seen a potential there, a similar potential to the one he’d seen in Jack back towards the beginning of his reign. Mostly though, he’d seen a good man who’d fallen on hard times and, as Geoff admitted, the King had never quite been able to turn his back on people like that, especially when they’d helped him without expecting his help in return. Ray wasn’t entirely sure he was a ‘good man’, but the words had made him smile all the same and he hadn’t questioned Geoff again about his place within the court.

Members of the court beyond those he’d initially befriended had even started to respect him by this point, some of them even referring to him as ‘Lord’ despite his lowly origins, and every once in a while he’d say or do something only to catch Geoff’s proud smiles as he saw how far Ray had come. And it always made Ray smile just as wide to think that he was making his king proud.

___

 

It was during a peace council negotiating terms between King Geoff and King Edgar (a powerful and well respected king, though perhaps a little more brutal in his justice at times than his monarch would’ve liked) that he’d first met Prince Ryan.

 

The man had arrived late, and utterly unrepentant about the fact, as he’d stated that his father, the lord King of the shadow lands, would be unfortunately unable to attend the meeting as he had unfinished business with King Gus of Roosterteeth. He then went on to explain that he, as his son and heir, had been sent to negotiate in his stead. He’d taken his seat at the head of the table, eyes holding Geoff’s as they offered a silent challenge, perhaps curious to see how their king would react to it. Geoff remained composed, however, quickly beginning the council as Gavin began to state the terms their court had decided on earlier that month when they’d first decided to broker peace with the Haywoods.

 

Ray was usually diligent during these meetings, noting the ways in which Gavin would present himself in court so he could try to emulate them himself, keeping track of the issues raised and offering his own views on subjects if he was asked (an occurrence that’d become more and more frequent as he’d begun to truly earn the respect of his peers) however the presence of the Prince seated at the end of the table was proving to be unexpectedly distracting as Ray found himself noting little details about the man.

 

Like the fact that there was an edge to Ryan’s voice as he spoke, tone rich and smooth but with just the faintest undercurrent of something a little less civil… given the stories he’d heard about the shadow lands he wasn’t exactly surprised. Everyone knew they were a brutal place, where the right to rule was determined not by blood or honor, but by strength (after all, the man currently sat at their table hadn’t always been Edgar’s ‘son and heir’). Beyond his voice, there was the way the man held himself, broad shoulders and the regal posture he’d only ever seen from Geoff when he was trying to impress some foreign ambassador (since he was as casual with posture as he was with names in the presence of his inner court). The stance gave him presence, it reminded the rest of the room precisely who he was and gave him authority that only Geoff could hope to match. It was the man’s smile though that caught his attention the most. It was a nice smile, wide and seemingly harmless but, like with every word that fell from those perfectly shaped lips of his, it had a sharp edge to it, almost like a thorn…

 

Ray had eventually been startled from his internal musings by a gentle nudge from Gavin, quickly remembering precisely where he was and (fortunately) being able to gauge from the hand’s expression exactly which issue it was they were currently discussing in order to give what must’ve been an acceptable answer given the smile Geoff flashed him in response before he returned to his more serious demeanor reserved for occasions such as these. As the focus had then shifted away from him Ray had dared to sneak another quick look at the Prince, surprised to find him observing Ray with an amused smirk on his lips and something almost calculating about his gaze and he studied the low-born with an intensity that made Ray’s cheeks heat up a little, quickly looking away and pulling a small burst of laughter from the older man’s lips in response. Geoff had not looked pleased.

——

"I have to say Councillor Navarez, you don’t strike me as a noble," Came the teasing lilt of Ryan’s voice along the corridor, Ray quickly spinning on his heels in order to face the man, his attention for once more captured by him than the red flowers that surrounded the arches.

"That’s because I’m not. I am one of two councilors of King Geoffrey’s court to be born in the lower lands of the kingdom and only came to Achievement City as a result of his kindness. Are you going to judge me for it as they did when I first arrived in the palace?"

"Far from it. If anything I find those of noble blood are usually a bore. They’re all so caught up with honor and glory, like children that never quite escaped the misguided dreams of infancy. They play at ruling, why do you think my father refuses to negotiate with them?"

"I thought he had unfinished business with King Gus of-"

"You do not strike me as a fool Ray, so I encourage you take this lesson to heart. We of the shadow lands never leave our business unfinished. By blade or by book, our enemies are always left desolate and cowering from us. We do not suffer half measures when it comes to war."

"And what of your allies?"

"Tell me Ray, do I strike you as someone in need of an alliance? Do you believe, for instance, I would need assistance in order to cut a man’s throat if I so wished it," He slipped a small dagger from its sheath, a flash of silver darting across Ray’s vision for a brief moment before he felt something cold press against his neck, "I could bleed you dry right now in the center of your King’s gardens, unaided, and I’d still walk away from this with barely a scratch." He pressed the blade a little more firmly to Ray’s neck, still not breaking skin but making it almost painfully apparent that he could and would it the mood struck him. The knowledge was almost dizzying. "We of the shadow lands don’t need allies."

"Then why bother coming to the council at all?"

"Because in order to take what we wish from our enemies, we must first assess what it is that they stand to lose."

"And what does Geoff stand to lose?" Ray found himself asking, breath catching in his throat a little as he felt the hand not clutching the blade run lightly across his back, feeling the Prince’s lips curve into a smirk against the back of his neck before suddenly the blade was gone, the man moving along the corridor towards King Geoff whose expression was thunderous.

 

——

 

Ray wasn’t entirely sure what’d happened in the hours between his talk with the shadow lands Prince and this moment as Geoff wore a path into the floor with his frantic pacing, but he knew his King well enough to know he’d have to be patient in order to receive his answers and so he waited as patiently as he could with his own sense of curiosity persisting at the back of his mind. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long.

"Ryan wishes to court you."

"What?"

"Prince Ryan of the shadow lands has made a formal request to court Lord Ray of the court of King Geoff. He has promised armies, gold and offered to adhere to all of our other demands so long as you adhere to his."

"He… said that?"

"He did. It seems he has taken a ‘special’ interest in you." Geoff admitted, his tone obviously troubled as he began to pace again.

"Well I suppose that’s fortunate for our cause then if we-"

"Ray as both your King and friend I’m telling you you don’t have to do this. We’ll find another way to hold off the Ender Tribes. I’m not about to sacrifice you to some sadistic fucker that-"

"I would highly appreciate it if you didn’t refer to the man I am courting in such a manner… my King." He could see the shock in Geoff’s eyes as he took in Ray’s sharp tone, the look in his eyes uncharacteristically sharp and unwavering as he stared down the man in front of him.

He could see Geoff deflate, a resigned look crossing his features before he offered a reluctant nod and the murmured words, “Be it on your own head then.”

By the time the sun had set the shadow lands possessed its first ally in hundreds of years and within the week the courtship of Prince Ryan and Lord Ray of the King’s council was common knowledge to the extent that people had begun to shoot the man sympathetic looks whenever he passed through the corridors, murmurs of sympathy following him wherever he went. He paid them little heed.

 

——

 

The first time he’d seen Ryan after that the man had been visiting the Kingdom along with King Edgar, a cold looking man with the same broad shoulders and sharp smile that almost made it seem as if Ryan truly could be the man’s son, certainly they seemed to possess the same talent for aggravating King Geoff whose expression seemed to have been set in a permanent scowl from the moment the shadow lands party had arrived in his court. 

Prince Ryan had greeted him with a smirk the moment he’d spotted him amidst the party that’d come out to greet their allies, making a point of catching Ray by the arm when the other members of Geoff’s court had begun to move inside the palace to begin formulating strategies with Edgar’s men for their ongoing campaign against the Ender Tribes.

Ray had turned, expecting some sharp words or perhaps another blade at his throat so to say he’d been surprised when he’d instead been handed a single blood red rose would’ve been an understatement. He accepted the flower with an awed sort of reverence, fingers tracing idly over one of the thorns as the Prince spoke, “You know these flowers have always fascinated me. Beautiful, delicate and at the same time neither of those things. For the beauty deceives the beholder-“

"And its thorns are anything but delicate." Ray finished knowing that the surprised look on Ryan’s face was mirrored in his own, "Its the ultimate deception because the flower is still beautiful, still delicate but to most people delicacy implies vulnerability which is what gives the thorns their chance to strike."

"The ultimate deception indeed." Ryan murmured, eyes alight with a fire Ray hadn’t noticed there before as the man’s hand moved to clasp Ray’s over the rose still delicately balanced in his palm, the thorns just barely breaking skin as their fingers tangled together, neither reacting to the pain as the Prince moved to press a kiss to the place where their hands were joined, "My delicate little rose."

 

——

 

When Ryan had first kissed him, it was sweet, gentle, like the petals of a flower unfurling in spring… and then suddenly it’d been harder, faster, any lingering traces of sweetness getting lost in the rough drag of Ryan’s teeth over his lower lip, the sharp tug of Ray’s hands in the Prince’s hair, their harsh breaths they caught between kisses as Ryan’s hand began to wander south and Ray continued his attempts to press himself impossibly closer to the man.

 

When they’d eventually parted, there’d been the slightest trace of blood on Ryan’s lips which Ray suspected was his own but the fact had barely registered in his mind because the kilted man was smiling that devilish smirk of his and Ray, as always, was lost in its thrall.

 

——

 

The death of King Edgar had been a sudden one, the news reaching the Achievement City’s court late at night as councilors were roused from their beds, the former heir now King of the shadow lands having ridden over from his own kingdom to deliver the news himself.

Most of the councilors had been quick to offer their condolences, despite (or perhaps because of) the unease the man tended to encourage wherever he went, encourage in everyone but Lord Ray it seemed given the way he’d rushed over to the newly crowned King, paying no heed to their audience as he’d captured Ryan’s lips in a heady kiss that’d had several councilors coughing awkwardly, pointedly looking anywhere but the pair of lovers until they’d pulled apart from one another.

After that the council had quickly gotten down to the matter at hand, Ryan explaining to the court how one of the Ender tribes’ allies, the archers of the undead, had somehow managed to sneak one of their own beyond the palace walls to assassinate the late King Edgar as he slept. He then went on to reassure the council that none of the policies they’d established in his ‘father’s’ reign would alter in any way under his leadership.

Most of the room seemed convinced, relieved even, by the man’s words but Geoff had spotted the slight quirk of a certain councilors lips as Ryan had mentioned the two kingdoms being allies and while the newly appointed King of the shadow lands was impossible to read, the man recently named as his betrothed was considerably less so. Clearly there was something about Ryan’s words that didn’t ring true as far as Ray was concerned and, as the only man who seemed to truly understand the new King, Geoff was more inclined to trust his perspective than that of his largely relieved looking councilors.

Plus there was something else, a thought that Geoff couldn’t quite seem to shake no matter how hard he tried… Ryan hadn’t seemed to be in mourning when he’d announced the former King’s death, he’d almost seemed… proud.

——

"You would have me believe Ryan a murderer then… on what grounds?"

"Well he didn’t seem that torn up about the late king’s death."

"The people of the shadow lands do things differently to you or I. Their customs dictate that death is inevitable and that there is no room for weaknesses such as regret."

"Sounds like a charming succession you’re marrying into there Ray."

"He does not mock your customs, the least you could do is show him the same respect."

"Customs aside, are you telling me you honestly don’t even suspect him of being guilty?"

"What makes you so sure he is?"

"He killed Edgar’s son before didn’t he? And I don’t mean sons in the sense they treat them, his real son. His blood son. Ryan killed him to become heir. Maybe he decided it was time to think bigger."

"Ryan was Edgar’s true son, the child borne of his blood was unworthy to bear the Haywood name, it was Ryan who ultimately claimed that right."

"You know you’re starting to sound just like one of them."

"Is that such a bad thing? I’ll be one of them soon enough and besides these are your allies you’re slandering with these words. Or have you forgotten the reason your head still bears that crown."

"It bears that crown because of the brave and noble people who have fought to protect it."

"King Ryan has fought to protect it just as much as those ‘brave and noble people’."

"King Ryan’s only ever fought in order to retain your courtship. I have no doubt once you’re married that he’ll withdraw all support from our campaign."

"Do you really have so little faith-"

"In him? Yes-"

"In me." Geoff fell silent for a moment before slowly shaking his head, "Then trust me when I tell you that Ryan was not responsible for Edgar’s death."

"I hope you’re right Ray… Because if he is found guilty, that’s treason… and the penalty for that’s no different in the shadow lands to any other kingdom. I just… wanted to warn you, just in case. Because if he is found guilty… it will be my duty, as the late King’s former ally, to execute him for the sake of justice."

"You can try." The words were cold, their tone cutting and as Geoff turned to face the man he’d come to consider as a vital part of the surrogate family he’d managed to build himself within his court, he was disturbed to find the same calculated coldness he’d seen in Ray’s partner countless times over the years reflected back. Lost for words as he was, he’d simply nodded before quickly exiting the room, the horrifying revelation playing through his mind that if there was to be a battle between them, it was a battle that Ryan might have already won.

 

——

 

Geoff’s worst fears were realized three weeks later as legions of shadow lands warriors had poured into the throne room, quickly cornering, disarming or otherwise incapacitating the councilors that’d been gathered in the throne room, their King strolling in after them at a leisurely pace after them and challenging Geoff to a duel.

Meanwhile amidst the chaos most of the remaining councilors had been restrained, with the exception of the two redheads who fought, back to back, eyes fierce and determined as they tried to take as many of the councilors as they could with them… It was a well aimed arrow to Lindsay’s heart that’d broken the legendary Mogar’s spirit, his two only losses in the field of combat throughout his years of service turning out to be at the redhead’s hand in some respect as his horror at the sight of her impaled by the weapon caused him to drop his sword in defeat, being run through with that very blade seconds later and collapsing to the ground beside his fallen wife.

The duel between Geoff and the shadow lands king had not been a long one, despite Ryan’s efforts to toy with the man first before he dispatched him. Geoff’s will to fight had waned when he’d begun to watch the people he’d considered family fall to the ground, the only remaining spark of anything (vengeance) quickly being extinguished as he caught sight of the one councilor who’d remained untouched throughout the procedures… he was smiling.

And now Geoff saw, saw that while he’d been wrong to worry about the Ender Tribes and shadow lands because the real threat had been residing in his court all this time…

His last breath was an apology, the last thing he heard was Gavin’s scream.

——

 

Ryan swiftly and deftly completed the execution, nudging Geoff’s severed head in the direction of the councilor who’d screamed before, smiling that thorny smile of his, the one that his subjects would grow to fear as time passed under the reign of their new ruler, as he stepped past the body of their fallen monarch. He crouched, taking in hand the fallen crown from where it lay in a pool of the former King’s blood his own crown now hanging at an almost precariously from his messy brown hair though he made no effort to right it, all of his focus drawn the the lone figure in the center of the council room.

 

He tilted his head, gaze finally meeting Ray’s as a lazy smirk began to turn the corners of his lips. He quickly closed the distance between them capturing the man’s lips in short but claiming kiss, his hands moving to rest the bloodied crown upon his partner’s head. “For you, my delicate little rose.” He murmured, allowing the man to pull him into a searing kiss right in the center of the throne room to the sound of Gavin’s agonized cry as he realized the same thing Geoff had just moments ago.

Despite the threats he’d made, it’d never been Ryan that they should’ve been afraid of. Because the real danger had lurked within the man he’d courted, the man with wide eyes and an innocent looking smile. The man responsible the deaths of King Edgar of the shadow lands and King Geoffrey of Achievement City. The perfect balance of what was beautiful and deadly. The ultimate deception…

 

Ray had always liked roses.


End file.
